Matters of the Heart
by Threedaysunrise
Summary: Months after the brothers vanished into the Gate, Winry battles with a growing loneliness and against the haunting dreams of sleep. With her destiny irrevocably changed, her very world shifts into a dream and to a man who she never thought she’d see again
1. Dreams : Edited

**Matters of the Heart**

_Chapter one: Dreams_

_-_

Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist or anything pertaining to it

_**Threedaysunrise

* * *

**_

**Nothing is more beautiful than the love that has weathered the storms of life. The love of the young for the young, that is the beginning of life. But the love for the old of the old, that is the beginning of things longer. **

_**-Jerome K. Jerome

* * *

**_

It had been nearly a month since Ed and Al had disappeared and still the laughter of her heart could not be found. It felt as if pieces of her—very important pieces—had been forcefully, and prematurely ripped from her body. One doesn't recover from that so easily. Winry Rockbell stared wearily at herself in the mirror while gently running the long-toothed comb through her damp, blonde hair. It was two o'clock in the morning and she had taken a shower. She knew she was crazy for doing so, but she couldn't sleep. When sleep came, so did the dreams.

She had never had dreams like these before. Her dreams that had once been of flying over valleys, or of being swept off her feet by her knight in shining armor, changed to a mob of screaming men with strange accents. In her dreams, dark-skinned women garbed in strangely flowing garments, gathered to dance and sing. But the weirdest part of it all was that she dreamed she owned some kind of mechanic shop on the far side of town, by a river.

Winry shook her head slightly as if to shake away the direction of her thoughts. Before he left, hadn't Al said that he had often dreamed of himself in another world where he lived with Ed and had some kind of cough?

Abruptly, she slammed the comb down on the table with more force than needed. Winry froze when Granny's voice grumbled something inaudible downstairs, but relaxed when the sound dissipated and the usual song of crickets returned.

The young mechanic knew she couldn't allow herself the hope of seeing the brothers again anytime soon. With false hope, the familiar reoccurring pain and ebbing loneliness was sure to follow. Winry had learned enough from Ed and Al that you couldn't open the Gate without a price, and even when the gate was open, the chances of getting through _untainted _was very slim. To top it all off, she was no Alchemist. But more often than not she found herself wondering, that if she could go to the other world…if she could see Alphonse and Edward, would she be able to leave her life here behind? Leave Granny, her puppy, Sheska, and so many others without a second thought?

She shakily stood up from her vanity table after messily braiding her hair and walked over to pull back the covers once again before slipping underneath the smooth sheets. There was no use in entertaining such thoughts, especially if they would never come true.

And so she slept.

And she dreamed.

* * *

**-**_**Germany-**_

_**-**_

"Hey brother, do you think Winry misses us?" Al asked from his bedside corner.

Ed smiled slightly in the dark while folding his hands behind his head. "Of course, you idiot, how could she not?"

"Mustang, Armstrong, Rose, and everybody else, also?" Al asked eagerly.

Ed craned his neck over to get a look at his brother whose feet were plastered high against the wall. The action was childlike for his thirteen-year-old body and even older personality. "Where is all this coming from Al? You're not homesick are you?"

"No, no, of course not brother, I'm just curious that's all!"

Glancing at his younger brother with probing amber eyes, Ed leaned back with a long, deep sigh before replying quietly. "That's too bad because I am."

"You, brother?"

Ed laughed slightly, "Of course Al. I've been stuck in this world for what seems like a lifetime in itself, and then I got to see a glimpse of home…and of all the people I left behind without having the chance of a goodbye. I even saw you in your human body for the first time in years since we were kids and…"

At Ed's pause, Al sat upright on his bed; watching his brother intently. "And what?"

"Nothing." He spoke, leaving no room for argument.

Al sighed when he heard the springs of the cheaply made inn bed squeak, a sighn that Ed had turned on his side as if to escape the conversation. Deciding not to bother his brother, Al shoved his now freezing feet under the covers and laid back down. The rather abrupt ending to their conversation spoke louder than any silence could. Since their time together in this new world, all talk of Winry had been completely banished. Al knew Ed had feelings for their childhood friend, even if he would flat out deny it.

Edward was just too stubborn for his own good. But Al was no fool. He had seen Ed's expression when Winry had embraced him the way she did when he first crash-landed back in Amestres after so many years.

He briefly wondered if he or Ed would ever start a family in this strange place called Germany. But to explain _everything—_their very history to someone of this world; where they were from…who they were, would be pointless. The only person who understood their situation was Noah because she had the gift to look into human hearts, but she looked far too much like Rose for Ed to allow himself interest.

Ed deserved to be happy. Al only wished that Winry was here to make that possible…to make both of them happy, like she did when they were kids. Sure it was selfish, but it was true.

For the first time that month, but not the only time in his life, Al hated the rules of equivalent exchange.

* * *

_**-Risembool-**_

_**-**_

It was her day off and Riza Hawkeye was at total loss of what to do. Her _life_ was the military. Give her an assignment and she would make sure to follow through and complete it, or die trying. But a day off? She had no idea where to even start. It was that infuriating Mustang's fault! He had told her, rather, commanded her that she take the day off! Her hands were itching just to get a hold of her gun…but no, he confiscated that too.

Riza sighed at her rare moments of childlike thinking. Complaining about it wasn't going to get her anywhere. She might as well make the most of it and act like the woman she was. Unclipping her wheat-golden hair, Riza shook it out, attempting to ignore its heavy mass on her shoulders.

By the time she was finished she had on a tight fitting beige trench coat that stopped at the knees with her hair eloquently thrown over her shoulder and a simple red handbag. Today was her day she told her self confidently, and all she would do was relax.

Three hours later she was bored out of her mind.

So there she was, sitting on the park bench and staring aimlessly at the softly rippling water on the lake when it hit her, or _he_ hit her. She had only briefly closed her eyes when a giant-of-a-man went for her purse, spouting off an ear-burning curse as he ran. She didn't even have to react for her legs were already pushed forward in a slow stretch when the stupid fool tripped over them gracelessly and fell flat on the pavement.

The oaf was struggling to get up when the bottom of her heeled shoe came down hard in the center of his back and he grunted. "You son of a-"

The man was cut off when the back of her hand slammed his face into the ground. "You, despicable ogre, would stoop so low as to steal a woman's purse?"

"Lieutenant Hawkeye. That's enough."

Her head turned sharply at the command and she growled when she saw who it was. "Colonel," She spoke with stiff acknowledgement. After what he had done for the military when those strange suits of armor had come through the Gate, he was given back his position and he took it on the condition of having free reign.

But where had he come from?

The man below her, seeing her attention had shifted, pulled out a switchblade from his sleeve and twisted wildly, slicing her leg. Riza hissed and stumbled back from surprise and pain. The Colonial was immediately by her side and with the snap of his fingers, a lick of flame shot out, enveloping the man's hand that held the knife.

She forced herself not to flinch as the smell of charred skin sprung into her nostrils, just as she forced herself not to flinch when the man fell to his knees in a roar of agony. It was his fault Mustang had to result to such a level. The Colonel took the attempt at an officer's life very seriously, and it was either get burned or get shot, though she herself would have much preferred to get shot.

Since she was not in uniform she couldn't do much other than watch, she made as if to walk away but was stopped when a strong hand encircled tightly around her upper arm.

"No yet, Riza" Roy's voice was soft but firm.

A little confused, she stood still waiting patiently as the bastard was cuffed and put into the jail car. Roy then grabbed her arm and roughly pushed through the growing crowd while dragging her limping form behind him. When they were free from the crowd and a good distance away, he forced her to sit on another park bench before kneeling in front of her.

The action made her flustered. "Sir, what are you doing?"

He extended her leg, which was bare up to her knees, and began to inspect the bleeding mass. His head was bent low and all she could see was the top of his cinder colored hair. He looked up sharply, his dark eye, the one that was not covered by the patch, staring at her intently.

"It's deep. We need to get this bandaged up before infection settles in."

Riza raised an eyebrow. "We? I am perfectly able bandage my own wounds, sir. Today is my day off, thanks to you, and I intend to keep it that way."

He quirked a smile at her as he reached for his pocket to pull out a white hanky and began to dab the streaming blood off her leg. His gloves, she noticed, were no longer on his hands as he had taken them off before he began the careful ministrations on her leg. His hand was wonderfully calloused as they 'accidentally' brushed against her skin. His left hand was wrapped around her ankle, straightening it out, while he gently prodded her wound. The most infuriating thing about it all was that he took his sweet time doing it, and she had half a mind to give him a good whack upside his cocky head.

Ever since that last battle, Roy had turned more endearing and more flirtatious than ever before. Sometimes it unnerved her, like now, but there were times she wondered what brought it on.

Roy looked up at her and smiled as if reading her thoughts. He gently put her ankle down, his fingers lingering longer that she would have liked. But he had done the job efficiently. There was no more streaming blood save for the stains left in their wake, and what was left was nothing a little water couldn't clean.

He thought otherwise.

In one fluid motion Riza was cradled in his arms and she was clutching his uniform in fear of being dropped.

"Colonel, what are you doing? Put me down!" she sputtered, quickly loosing her composure.

The Colonial laughed slightly, "Returning the favor lieutenant. After all that time you spent healing me back to health, it's the least I can do. Besides, if you walk the wound will only seep more."

Riza growled inaudibly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Second Lieutenants Jean Havoc and Heymans Breta casting knowing glances their way and snickering with expressions one could only associate with evil. She gave them an unbridled glare. If they were to say anything about this, she would enjoy using them as target practice.


	2. Those who hold regret: Edited

_Chapter two: Those who hold regret_

-

_**

* * *

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_**You can't run from the past, you can only face it. If you run, it will follow. If you confront it, you take the chance of finding peace within it.**_

_**-Threedaysunrise

* * *

**_

_The streets, to Winry's relief and horror, were devoid of all people and automobiles and the air was much easier to breath. The sun was setting and a feeling of nervousness settled in her gut. She hated being out after dark. So the young blonde quickened her steps in hopes of making it home…just a half mile further._

_Winry's heart began to pound loudly in her chest when quiet footfalls sounded behind her. She could not allow herself to panic…she could never think straight when she did. Hand slipping beneath her trench coat, she habitually grabbed the crowbar that she kept hidden on her person; body tensing._

"_Lookie there boys, a whore on the go. How fitting." An excited male voice sounded from the shadows behind her. Winry swirled and franticly searched the shadows to no avail._

"_Hey, isn't that the wench who claims she can do a man's job better than any man?" another voice goaded._

"_Who cares, she has a pair of legs on her and a voice. Let's make her scream." The group snickered._

_What reasoning Winry had summoned up to that point, left her immediately and she ran as if Satin himself were running after her. She heard their whoops of laughter and huffing voices as they ran after her. Something caught hold of her hair and she screamed, swinging her crowbar wildly, hoping to hit at least something._

_Her aim proved true when she heard one man snarl in pain from behind._

"_You wretch!" spat the man._

_She made another dash for escape but was roughly thrown against the brick wall. Smelly hands enclosed around her neck and wrist. She attempted to scream._

"_Let her go!" _

_The putrid man stopped his assault on her to face the voice of the intruder. "Who the hell are—"_

_He never finished his sentence for her rescuer had knocked him down with amazing force that sent him sailing. The footsteps of his colleagues cold be heard echoing down the street, running far away from them._

_The fog was gathering and Winry struggled, during gasping breaths, to see the face of her rescuer._

"_Are you alright?" his voice sounded again._

_She nodded wordlessly and accepted his offered hand. Her insides clenched when she saw his face. In the circling mists stood none other than her childhood friend; a man now._

"_Edward?"_

_Her eyes rolled to the top of her head and her body went limp as she fainted. _

The young mechanic awoke with a start. Her hair was damp and her body slick with sweat. Holding her hand to her pounding heart, Winry gasped loudly for breaths in hopes of calming it.

"Edward…" she croaked.

A small shuffled on the side of her bed made her freeze. "Aunt Winry, who's Edward?"

The startled woman bodily turned around only to stare into the dark eyes of Kain, Rose's son who had adopted her as his Aunt shortly after moving in. Winry put on a cheery façade in hopes of pacifying the boy and his curiosity. "It's no one." She said weakly.

"They why are you crying?" Came his insightful comment of child naivety.

Winry put a trembling hand to the corner of her eyes, which were indeed moist with her warm tears. Had but a dream of Edward made her so emotional that she would weep when unconscious? She knew the actuality of the dream wasn't possible, but it had seemed so _real._ She had felt the warm trembling of his hand, had felt his calloused palms against her own, and had seen the shock of recognition in his golden amber orbs…

"I'm all right now, Kain, It was just a bad dream, that's all." She smiled more convincingly at the child who had placed his tiny fists on each hip, eyeing her carefully. "I'm fine now, really, so there's no need to mention this to your mama or Granny, Ok?"

The child looked at her again, for a split second Winry thought he was going to comply, but she sighed in defeat when he dashed away, his loud voice screaming through the house. "Mmmmooooommm, Aunt Winry is having bad dreams again!"

She could no longer become irritated at the child's inability to listen to anyone other than his mother. The boy was not stupid, she would give him that much. Kain in fact, was frighteningly smart. He never once fell for the tricks she had always played on Ed and Al growing up.

"Jus my luck." She mumbled softly while tying her blonde hair in a bun at the top of her head. She reached for her robe and a fresh pair of underclothes before heading to the bathroom for a nice, hot, long, shower. Hopefully that would clear her head and allow her to think past the frantic beatings of her heart.

After that, it was time to face the day.

* * *

**-Germany-**

**-**

Edward watched the steady rise and fall of the woman's chest through hooded eyes. He knew that he would eventually meet her double…but also hoped that he never would. One Winry was good enough for him…two was just plain weird. Though, the look he had seen in her fathomless blue eyes the prior night had made him pause. What he saw, he had never expected to see. Not from someone here.

Recognition.

She had whispered his name before she fainted and his heart all but stopped. Maybe he was just imagining things; after all, the deep longing in his heart for someone familiar had never been so strong.

Ed closed his eyes as his teeth began to grind in frustration. This was_ not_ the Winry he knew. This was _not_ the Winry that knew him. He would never see his Winry again. That was life. Or so he tried to convince himself.

"You know her, don't you?" came Noah's quiet voice from the doorway.

Ed made himself look nonchalant to her question. "I don't know her, at least, not in this world I don't."

Noah walked forward to stand by Ed's tilting chair. Her dark eyes focusing on the sleeping woman with an expression that Ed found hard to read.

"Was she important to you?"

Ed looked at Noah out of the corner of his eye somewhat curiously. "Yeah, she was important to us. Winry was our best friend growing up. She's one of the few people that knows our entire story and understands without condemning us."

"I asked if she was important to _you_."

Ed felt his face heat up with embarrassment. "I—" At that moment, that perfect moment Al burst through the doors; chest heaving in excitement as his eyes centered on the sleeping woman, then on his brother.

"Is what Noah told me true? Is it Winry?"

"It's not her." Ed snapped; riled over his brother's enthusiasm. "This is her look-alike Al, this is not _our_ Winry!"

After his abrupt and passionate appeal, Ed grabbed his coat off the hanger and then threw it over his shoulder. "I need some air. I'll be back in a little while."

It was Al's sigh that broke the awkward silence his brother had created. Without a word, the former Alchemist took Ed's seat beside the bed. Noah continued to stare down at the sleeping woman through blank eyes before she spoke.

"Who is she?"

Al turned his head slightly, mimicking his brother's early movements. "She was our childhood friend." He laughed softly. "When we were kids, Ed and I would argue at who would be the one to marry Winry. She was our next door neighbor and our mothers were good friends. When she was young her parents were executed for helping the Ishballen people during the war."

He looked at her with eyes that held no condemnation. "You see? Our home isn't as peaceful as Dietlinde made it out to be.

"Years later our mom also died... That's when Ed lost his arm and leg and I lost my body. Winry, who was always a fanatic about mechanics, was the one who constructed the automail limbs you see on Ed now. Brother always claimed she made the best."

Noah gave a long pause. Dully remembering the times Edward uttered her name in his sleep. "Has there been any word on the Uranium bomb and its creators?" The subject change was deliberate.

Al bowed his head and his voice became low. "Yes, reports claim that members of the Thule Society have reunited and are working at an old abandoned factory right outside of this town. Word also has it that their planning something big. The leader has shown himself."

"We need to tell Edward."

"I know, but right now he needs his space. He probably has a lot on his mind right about now."

Noah said nothing but returned her gaze to the sleeping woman.

Ed stared down at his reflection in the darkness of the stagnant lake; glowering angrily. It had been a month since he had last seen his home. A month since he had told Al that Germany was their new home. Why the hell couldn't he follow is own advice? He had been somewhat content, accepting their situation and their lot in this life. But with each familiar face, he found himself wondering about home…

Especially Winry's face. She had been the first to recognize him after he had made his crash landing in the Underground City by coming through the Gate. The feelings that awakened after seeing her for the first time in years had left him confused and vulnerable. A combination of feelings that he didn't care for.

What would life have been like had he been able to stay in his own world? Would he still be wandering from city to city with Al? Would he be the well-known Full Metal Alchemist? Would he have been married and had kids? That thought alone made him feel flustered. He could almost hear Mustang's voice now, saying that he was seventeen and still so immature in the aspects of life and women.

He should be one to talk.

Mustang could have any woman he desired, but the one he clearly wanted was standing right in front of him, and he couldn't make a move. Of course, that could have change by now, but it was highly doubtable. He just didn't have the guts.

Well, neither did Ed really.

He cursed loudly wile swiping away his reflection in the water with more force than necessary and his face became drenched in lake water. If Mustang could see him now, gratefully he couldn't, he would laugh his head off right at this very moment.

But the past was the past. He had to put thoughts of his old world behind him and focus on living in this one. There was still so much to do, and to live for yourself, always had a negative effect on others. He and Al had learned this lesson well these past few months. So he couldn't allow himself to wonder, or to even hope about a future, that would _never_ be.

* * *

**-Central-**

**-**

Mustang glared down at the file below him. A scowl creased his features as a low growl made its way up through his throat. Jean's leery glances didn't go unnoticed as he flipped the file shut and placed his fist underneath his chin.

"Is something wrong, sir?"

Mustang swung his narrowed eyes to Jean who looked slightly nervous at his speculation. "As of right now, no there isn't. But there could be."

"Sir-"

"We'll discuss this when I get back, Second Lieutenant."

"Sir!" Jean stood stiffly at attention as Mustang left the room before allowing himself a soft laugh. He had no doubt where the Colonel was going. The extra jump in his step had told him as much. Ever since the incident with the Gate, the Colonel had been confining with Riza more and more, and yesterday's incident had proved it as well. A flustered Riza Hawkeye was a sight he would never forget. He also wouldn't forget her threat that evening, either.

Though the look the Colonel had on his face told him that something was up. And it wasn't good.

His gaze traveled over to the file on Mustang's desk and he felt his hands twitch ever to slightly. Slowly, he glanced over one shoulder, and then the other before walking 'casually' over to the beckoning file and flipping it open. He squinted his eyes slightly as they scanned the paper for any valuable information.

_Alchemic evidence found in an underwater cavern in Lake Shechea. Samples suggest it was from the late 18th century._

'Yatta, yatta' Havoc thought wirily. Pieces of Alchemic evidence had been found all over the place but none of it had been useful in their studies. It always ended up being broken pieces of information that never seemed to connect or make sense. His eyes scanned the rest of the page and his eyes widened on a bit of information.

What he read made his stomach curl and his teeth clench.

"Damn." He muttered darkly.

Riza growled when a knock to the door sounded. 'I order you to bed rest' he says, but every time she attempted to sit down the phone would ring or Hayata would need to be let out to do his business. In this case, someone shows up. Grand.

She hadn't made it three feet from the door when it came swinging open. "Colonel?" she asked slightly perturbed. He took one look at her in her working progress and scowled at her.

"Why are you up?"

Oh, as if it wasn't obvious. So she instead went for bluntness.

"Getting the door, sir."

He didn't like her answer for thirty seconds later she was propped up on the couch again, scowling. Looking at Roy's furrowed eyebrows and faraway look in his dark eyes, made her pause slightly. He only looked like that when something was upsetting him. She should know, it was her job to know.

"Colonel, is there something bothering you?"

He looked up, returning out of the depths of his thought, and began to pace around the room. It was business, she had no doubt. Roy was a serious man when it came to his job, but he normally never let it get to him too much. Something must be weighing heavy upon his mind.

"I thought we had destroyed all evidence of the Gate when the Elric brothers disappeared behind it. They were to destroy it on their side while I took care of it on ours. It took a bloody month to it." He began; his voice tired.

Listening intently, Riza leaned back in her chair and propped her wounded leg up.

"Well, it turns out that there was a permanent Gate from the beginning. Or so we think. We found it after the Underground City collapsed. It turns out there was another level to the Underground City that had been sealed off centuries after its upper level (the level just below the surface). Beneath, we found a lake in a giant cavern, and a transmutation circle carved into stone. And it's massive."

"What?" Riza asked, unease curling in the pit of her stomach. "I didn't think you could carve a transmutation circle in stone and it still be viable for use."

"You can't, or at least not that I know of. Though, we are still trying to figure if it actually worked. Dietlinde Ellnic is head of the team. She says she's never seen anything like it, though, some of the symbols tell of a Gate passage. That's why the military was brought it. They have yet to find the point of activation. I hope they don't, I've worked too hard to only deal with the same problem twice."

"What do you purpose we do, sir?"

Roy Mustang looked at her with a common intensity that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

"We stop them. I will not have anyone else torn apart because of a foolish mistake."

* * *

_**Resembool**_

**-**

_October 10_

Winry closed the pocket watch with more force than necessary when she heard a knock at the door. She quickly grabbed an old scooter motor and made as it look as if she was deeply involved in her work. When she heard a familiar voice, she lifted her head and plastered a smile on.

"Good morning, Rose!"

The beautiful young mother smiled in return while waking forward toward Winry's desk. She tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear while staring down at Winry, somewhat distracted.

"Kain told me you were having nightmares again." Her voice was soft, yet knowing.

"I'm not having nightmares," Winry spoke out quickly, "They're just bad dreams!"

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"Nope. There's a difference."

"Hmm." Rose said quietly, "Were they about Ed again?"

Heaving a great sigh, Winry dropped the motor and buried her head deep in her hands. "Yes, and they won't stop. I _see _him as he would be now. I felt his hand as in mine when he helped me up. I _feel_ his gaze on me as I sleep in my dream."

"Maybe you're combining the memories of the past with the longings of the future. You know how Ed is, and maybe your subconscious is combining it with images of the present Ed."

"…Maybe."

The two women grew quiet for a short time. Content in the contemplative silence.

"What did he look like?" Rose asked suddenly.

"Ed?"

"Hmm." She nodded.

Winry could help the smile that formed at the corner of her lips. "He was taller, much taller. Instead of the braid he always used to wear his hair in, it was in a ponytail, like Al's was."

Rose laughed softly. "How ironic!"

"I know! Personality wise, he didn't seem to change. Always rushing into battle without the least though for himself…in fact when I found him he couldn't move at all; his wooden arm and leg substitutes were pretty much shattered. I connected the arm and leg I had created over the years and he was off. The last time that I would ever see him again." She trailed off into her quiet thoughts, not noticing Rose's slightly shift in stance.

"Do you miss him?"

Winry didn't hesitate. "I do. I miss them both."

"So do I."

The two women smiled at one another. A bond of understanding settling between them.

"Oh!" exclaimed Rose, remembering the other reason why she came to see Winry. "You have a customer waiting in the front. She said something about helping her son."

"Ok, I'll be right out."

Fifteen minutes later Winry made herself known to the waiting patient who had taken to pacing. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail that spoke of sophistication as did her attire. She sighed and then returned to pacing the edge of the room.

"Excuse me Ms, can I help you?"

The lady turned around sharply with an icy glare. "It's about time I got some help around here! Honestly, how do you all keep this place running?"

Dislike was her immediate reaction to the woman's antics, but she forced herself to breathe. "I'm sorry Ms, I was tied up with something out back, but we do the best that we can, Ms."

The woman huffed. "I am Anita Snighder. Have I heard correctly, that the owner here has successfully created automail body parts?"

A little confused, Winry agreed. "The owner is Pinako, my grandmother, and we are both experts in the field."

Anita, as she was called, lifted her nose as her crude gaze traveled across her form. "How is it that you are an expert? You don't look a day over seventeen, eighteen at the most. My daughter doesn't even know what the inside of a car looks like, what makes you think you are capable of handling with machines?"

Winry had to resist the temptation of falling into her old habit of flailing a wrench.

Taking a deep breath Winry sighed, "I have been handling machines all my life. I had a friend who had an arm and a leg of automail and I was his mechanic. I am no stranger to this field."

The woman huffed. "Fine. Then you will see my son and I tomorrow afternoon, but I want the owner here as well."

The woman spun on heel and slammed the door shut behind her. Winry was absolutely befuddled. What was that all about?


	3. Importance of Living: Edited

_Chapter three: Importance of Living_

* * *

**One can not simply forget the pain and just move on. To forget the hard times, would be to banish the good times, and the prosperity that rose up within them or as a result of them.**

**-jb

* * *

**

**Germany**

**-**

Winry Rocheller awoke to the feeling of eyes boring into her unmoving form. Goosebumps rose on her arms and her body tensed in remembrance of the prior night. Having no idea where she was, Winry forced her eyes open against the streaming sunlight and blinked. She was in an inn. But which one? Hesitantly, she sat up.

"You're finally awake."

Winry stared warily at the man whose face was too familiar to bear. "Who are you?" she demanded, backing against the headboard.

"Ed." He said, crossing his legs. A spasm of pain collected inside her chest. Were the Fates being cruel to her? "And you?"

"Winry." Came her shaky reply. She closed her eyes and placed her hand upon her brow to steady her shifting world. "And thank you," she said with a true sincerity. "I don't even want to imagine what would have happened if you had not been there to rescue me."

"In the right place at the right time, I guess." His tone was sultry.

"Thank you again, Edward. If there's anything I can do—"

"Just Ed," he corrected sternly. Winry didn't miss the way his eyes flickered when she called him Edward. How strange. She tilted her groggy head, contemplating until he his amber orbs could no longer hold her own.

"Do you live around here, Ed?" she inquired softly.

"No. We're just travelers searching for a place to stay for a while." The man leaned back in his chair; more at ease with her presence. Winry found herself relaxing as a result.

"Why don't you and your friends stay with me," she heard herself say, despite of the unease that curled in her stomach. "I live in a mechanic shop with two rooms and a kitchen in the back. It's nothing to get excited over but it's a place to sleep. "

"I don't think—"

"Consider it payment in saving my life." She interjected. "How many travel with you?"

"There's three of us altogether!"

Both Winry and Ed turned to look at a young boy by the age of twelve or thirteen peeking through the door with a brilliant smile upon his face. His happiness was contagious for despite of her weariness, a small smile found its way upon her lips.

"This is my brother Al." Edward introduced with a glare to the boy.

"Nice to meet you, Winry." said Al while shaking her hand heartily. He turned to his brother who had folded his arms tightly across his chest. "So can we stay, brother? Can we stay with Winry?"

Winry didn't know how to describe the tone behind the young boy's voice. But it was thick with implications and something else—like both of them were in on some kind brotherly secret. He sounded much older than he looked.

Defeated, Edward sighed from his corner post.

…

"This is it?" Ed's voice was strained, disbelieving, even. Forgetting that she had only just met her new roommates, Winry gave a well-aimed jab to his stomach with her elbow. Ed grunted.

"Yes," Winry said crossly. "This is it."

Al watched as a fondness crept into the alternate Winry's eyes in their observation of their new, temporary home. He smiled to himself. Some things would never change—no matter how great the voice between time and space was. Winry Rockbell had always been fond her modest home. She had been the one, after all, who had reminded them that no matter how far they traveled that they would always have a home waiting for them.

A familiar sadness crept into his chest like a disease that eats away at your body. It wasn't that he was regretting his decision for crossing the Gate to be with Ed. _Never_. It was just that he felt something was missing, something that he hadn't felt in a very long time—even before they had crossed the Gate.

A crooked grin fell upon his lips. _'That's because our home is with Winry.'_

Though somewhat relived, he was not cured of this plaguing emptiness. If only Ed would admit to the fact. Verbally admit it. They both knew it but Ed would never confess it.

They made it inside and Ed had to force his mouth shut by biting his tongue. That and the constant of reminder of Al's elbow two inches from his gut, prepared to strike. It was a typical, messy, mechanic shop…multiplied by a hundred. Wrenches, screws, crowbars, drills, along with every imaginable kind of metal equipment cluttered the shelves and littered the floors. She had two gurneys, one which had an older model of the automobile on it. The two brothers stared at the scene in shock; eyebrows twitching slightly.

"Um…Winry?" began Al; a quaver in his voice. "Where do we _sleep_?

Winry gave them a sheepish look, slightly embarrassed by her lack in house keeping. "In the back. You may have to beat the dust from the mattress; they haven't been used in so long." They followed her toward the back of the shop where they walked through as small door. They passed through a tiny kitchen that was connected to a tiny dining room, then into the even smaller living room which led to the back room.

"You guys can share this room right here. There are two mattresses but no heating stove. That's in my room. If it gets cold during your stay, we can all crowd in there. Your friend can sleep with me." She paused, folding her arms and leaning against the doorway. "Where is your friend, anyway?"

"Noah went out shopping for supplies, she should be back soon." Ed spoke up, patting the bed and watching the dust fly.

"Alright, we can meet her there. I have a few things to pick up from town."

Al, whose face had turned unusually serious, looked at Ed in such a way that demanded moment to confer. He turned back to her, smiling. "Brother and I have some business to take care of. Go on ahead without us. We'll catch up."

Winry narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Fine. What does she look like?"

* * *

**Underground City**

**-**

"With all do respect sir…why did you have to drag me here like _this_?"

Roy Mustang smiled because he knew Riza was a good three steps behind him and she couldn't see his face. Before they had left her apartment, he had wrapped her leg thickly in white bandages so the wound wouldn't seep and to protect it from bacteria. He was thankful he was able to control his face when looking at her. The moment she saw his amusement he knew it would be the end.

Though, with her leg was wrapped up like she had it amputated, she didn't look the least bit intimidating. But he knew otherwise and had no desire to be the butt of her anger. Saints help him then.

"Would you have wanted someone else to come in your place?" he didn't wait for her response, knowing it would come as an immediate denial. "And if you're tired of struggling, I would like to remind you that I made to offer to carry you till we made it in side."

He heard her huff. "With all do respect, I don't believe carrying your Lieutenant while in her uniform would be inappropriate."

He didn't answer because he knew she was right. Heck, she was right about everything in being a soldier. She knew the handbook both inside and out. But she also knew when abandoning the book was most important. It was one of the many things that made her such a great soldier. _Such a great person._

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly is this place?" Riza spoke as she looked around the bulb-lit cavern. Dozens of the military personal that crowded the musty halls stood at attention at their passing and gave a salute. Roy gave nod for their ease and Riza kept her eyes forward.

"After Fullmetal took the tainted soldiers back beyond the Gate, the floor to the underground city fell through and this is the result." He raised his hands to show. "We thought there were only two layers, but it fell through into a third one."

The pair passed over a thin metal bridge made by the workers to get across to the other side of the cavern without having to attempt the dangerous path through the fallen rock. Mustang stopped in the center of the bridge to overlook the eastern wall.

"There."

Riza's eyes bounced back and forth in hopes of seeing what the Colonel saw. "Sir?" This time he pointed as he stood behind her so she could see from his eye level.

Her eyes became wide with shock. The transmutation circle became visible and it was _huge._ Its design was of nothing she had ever seen and it was all engraved in stone. "This is it?"

"Yes." his voice was grave.

"Colonel Mustang. Lieutenant Hawkeye." A voice sounded from behind, startling them. "Your visit is unexpected but not un-welcomed. It is good to have you at our humble dig sight. I am Dietlinde Ellnic, head of this Alpha excavation team."

Both Riza and Roy turned to look at each other before facing the woman who held cause to all of the panic and potential havoc. "Please forgive the intrusion, Ms Dietlinde. Lieutenant Hawkeye and I are here for an overview inspection."

The woman smiled. Her dirty-blond hair was cut to her chin. Her clear, blue eyes narrowed as if she knew something they did not. A soft smirk graced her pale lips.

"It's fascinating, isn't it?" she turned to the transmutation circle on the far wall. "From the samples we took, we learned that this circle was created in the late 18th century, over two-hundred years ago. At the base of the circle, over three-hundred feet below our feet we found markings that suggested that the natives of the late civilization believed it to be a sacred gate to the underworld where the soul crosses into the Spirit plane after the body dies. Some have even gone so far to call in a _Sacrificial_ Gate. But our theory makes make this a possible, permanent Gate that connects us with something deeper. The mystery and the control of its power has yet to be fully unveiled but I'm happy to say we're getting close."

"You don't think that's dangerous? I'm sure you're aware of recent events having to do with the Gate opened. With alchemy there will always be a price, ma'am. I just don't think I'm prepared to let you put the lives of those around you in danger." said Mustang in his rebuttal.

Dietlinde laughed softly. "I understand your concerns, Colonel Mustang. But there is more than Alchemy to this equation, and I am fully aware of the risks in doing this. My nephew, who helps me as my assistant, and everyone you see here, are also _brutally_ reminded of the risks in doing this job. They're here because their curiosity and hunger for a different life drives them and they are all willing to pay the price, if need be." She stated calmly; her eyes calculating.

"And the people who live above here? What of them?" was his counter.

"Mrs. Ellnic!" a voice sounded from below, breaking the intensity of the question.

"Yes, Kevin?" the woman leaned over the side railing to answer the man. "Come down here! We've found something!"

Dietlinde turned back to the pair and tilted her head in ado. "Rest assured, Colonel. I have no intention of letting any civilians get in the way of our progress. Feel free to look around." She nodded her head. "If you'll excuse me."

Riza and Roy watched silently as the woman of strict air walked away; her gate slow and steady.

"Your thoughts, sir?" asked Riza, still looking at the fading woman.

Roy turned his head to stare at the giant transmutation circle, dark thoughts flooding his mind. "Something still doesn't feel right."

* * *

_**Resembool**_

_**-**_

_She knew this must be a dream. Yet another cruel, heartless dream that delved her deeper into her sorrow. At least this dream wasn't as_ interactive_ as the last._

_She felt her heartbeat slow until its beating became painful in her chest. Winry watched through the eyes of another as Edward's shifted quickly from her to the side of the room. He wouldn't look at her. But when he finally did, anguish could be seen in their bottomless amber depths. He held out his hands to her face—an action that Ed had never before done to her—and pulled her to him so he could place his brow upon hers. He closed his eyes, breathing ragged._

"_I'm so sorry, Winry. Forgive me."_

"Winry!" the annoyed voice of her grandmother rung in her ears and she felt a sharp jab in her ribs. Her eyes, crusted over with sleep flew open and she inhaled shakily as she reminded herself where exactly she was. "I'm up" she croaked to Pinako's disproving raise of her eyebrow.

"Winry, you know you're straining yourself when you fall asleep on your job." Her grandmother rattled on.

Winry grimaced. "I know, Granny. I just couldn't sleep any last night, that's all."

Granny let out a loud harrumph while tapping her foot impatiently. "Rose says you have a customer from yesterday waiting outside. See them in and then take a break, go for a walk, do something! I can't have you sleeping on the job." She pushed her glasses up to her nose and walked off.

Her first initial thought was that she got the rest of the day off, but when she remembered which customer it was exactly, she groaned loudly. She had no desire to deal with stuck up customers right now, but she knew she must.

"Hello again, Mrs. Snighder."

The woman gave her an uncustomary evaluation from head to foot and sniffed. She tilted her head toward the corner of the room where a lone figure sat, hunched over. He looked to be three years her senior—old enough to be out of his mother's care. His hair hung limply in front of his face, concealing her view. The man looked ragged and worn.

"My son, Bo." Anita introduced tartly.

"Great, then if I can have Bo follow me to the back, we can get started."

Bo stood up slowly, shuffling toward her and his mother closely behind.

"Excuse me, Mrs, Snighder, but unless your son specifies your presence then I'm afraid you must stay here." Winry spoke smoothly, making sure the desperation in her voice couldn't be heard. Anita looked appalled.

"Stay, mother." Said Bo without looking back.

"But—"

"I said stay." The command in his voice made his mother pale. Winry politely looked away.

He followed her to the back and Winry began to take the measurement of his arm, jotting them down as reminders for when she was constructing the arm. She spoke to him as she worked.

"Mr. Bo, if you are to get an automail arm, you will be able to move it as if it were your original arm. But I cannot lie to you. The procedure is very painful. I will have to connect the nerve cells of your arm to the automail so you can move it. Tell me, not because of your mother, but do you want this?"

Bo looked at her with such savagery that she was momentarily taken aback. "Do you have any idea of the shame that fills me when people look at me with pity in their eyes? Do you? Of course I want your automail. It's the only thing that's left that has any chance of salvaging my pride as a man."

"Ok." She said simply.

Winry finished his examination within the following fifteen minuets and was about to tell him she was finished when he spoke. "I lost it doing a job that I love. I am…or was my aunt's assistant at an archeology dig-site. I was working in the caverns below when the rocks above us came loose. My arm, as you can see, was crushed beyond repair and had to be amputated. Without my arm I cannot do my job and the worst part of it all, was that I was the only one who survived the cave-in."

Winry reached out a hand to the trembling man's shoulder and squeezed tightly in reassurance. For a situation like this, she had no words of comfort. No words of guidance. So instead she used the comfort of physical reassurance. With that, you can never go wrong.

"Your automail parts will be ready for you in about a week" She paused. "And Bo, I am truly sorry. But don't let yourself be overwhelmed by the bitterness. If you do, it will consume you. You must remind yourself that _living_ is what's important now.

Winry placed a bouquet of white lilies on her parents' grave and stood up from her kneeled position at the edge of each stone. At the end of the day she always liked to come up here and visit her parents' graves and just talk. She smiled slightly. In fact she talked so much that if her parents could answer her, they would probably tell her to shut up by now, or to quit wining. Her most frequent subject of late had been Edward and Alphonse.

She clutched another bouquet, this one being of pink roses, to her chest as she walked down to another gravestone.

"Tricia Elric" she read the name aloud before placing the flowers underneath her stone. Her eyes traveled farther still as she read the rest of the tombstone.

_Loving wife and mother_

_Gone but not forgotten_

Those two sentences couldn't fit another person any better. What little she remembered of Mrs. Tricia was of what her mother use to say, and of the times she spent with the Elric brothers over at their house.

"Hello again, Mrs. Tricia," She began. She had picked up visiting Tricia's grave since Ed and Al had gone through the Gate and when Hohenheim was nowhere to be found. No one should be left forgotten, even if their loved ones are no longer around.

"It's been a hectic day here at the shop. Too many people, if you ask me." She smiled slightly. "I'm sure Ed and Al are fine. You can probably see them on the other side of the Gate, or at least I hope you can." She stopped and inhaled heavily.

"I wonder…" she said absentmindedly. "Was it you who Al got such a kind and caring personality from? Or was it Ed who inherited his temper from you? I honestly can't ever remember you getting mad. Even when Edward flooded the house, you still kept your smile."

The wind blew softly and Winry rubbed her arms to rid herself of the chill. "I wish they were here. I wish you were here for them. Heck," she wiped away the softly streaming tears. "I wish mom and dad were here. I wish it was like it was all those years ago. Things were so simple back then."

Winry closed her eyes and breathed deeply in hopes of calming herself out of her emotional upheaval. She didn't want Granny or Rose worrying about her any more than they already were.

"Goodnight, Mrs. Tricia. Tell mamma and papa again that I love them with all my heart."

And from there, she walked slowly back to the house, welcoming the night and its darkness that fell over her like a thick blanket and was like a silent comfort.


	4. Describing Winry

_Chapter four Describing Winry_

* * *

_**Love is friendship set on fire.**_

_-Jeremy Taylor

* * *

_

She regretted ever promising the brothers that she would find their friend. Already she had been across town and even looked on the outskirts of the river, and still she found no one fitting the description of a gypsy with dark skin and eyes. One would think, in the midst of pale Germans, spotting such would be simple!

As if in answer to her thoughts, Winry became aware of the growing crowd around her and of their sudden restlessness. She pressed herself through the bodies, unease curling in the pit of her stomach.

…

Noah held an orange in each hand, weighing them and feeling them to help her decipher when would be the better buy. Both glowed with the healthy sheen of ripeness that promised a mouthful of sweet flavor and both were the same in size. She just simply couldn't decide.

"I'll take them both, thank you." She said to the woman behind the fruit stand who gave her a tight smile. When she reached for the bag the woman handed to her, their hands just barely touched, but it was enough to feel as if she had been struck in the face.

She felt fear.

A month and a half she had been traveling with Edward after the 'incident' and still, people looked at her clothes in judgment and her coloring in disdain. She could not prevent her thoughts from wondering that if she had indeed gone to the world beyond the Gate, would she have been accepted as an equal? Or would she be scorned and distrusted as a foreigner with no homeland? From the stories Ed had told her, his homeland was like a utopia, filled with every kind of joy possible, and yet it was also a place just like this one…full of war and strife.

Still…it had to have been better than the living hell she was in now.

She tucked a stray piece of her silken hair back behind her ear. The opportunity to go back beyond the Gate was destroyed when Ed and his brother Al miraculously broke apart the Portal by tearing the body of the dragon (to whom they referred to as Envy but refused explain) and separating what the Thule society had called the Spear of Longinus, to what they thought to be a 'holy spear'.

She had never seen such a pained and lonely expression on Edward's face. Or Alphonse's.

Her demeanor immediately fell. Oh, how she longed for the original Alphonse of her world and his friendly company. When Edward would be on one of his missions, it was Alphonse who was her comfort friend. And she sorely missed his stimulating conversations.

Noah paused in her stride when she came to a mechanic stand, vaguely remembering Ed saying something about his metal arm or, _automail _as they liked to call it, feeling stiff.

She was about to reach for one of the cans when the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly rose in warning and a guttural "Get out" sounded from beneath the shadows of the stand. She froze.

"Are you deaf?" The leering man finally revealed himself. "I don't _serve _Gypsies."

Noah froze, the familiar fear overwhelming her once more. When her hand did not move from its hovering position above the can, the man's hand grabbed her wrist tightly, pulling her forward.

"Leave her alone, Tate, she'd done nothing to rile your anger."

Out of the corner of her eye, Noah caught sight of a familiar blonde walking calmly toward the two of them. It was the woman who had made Ed so uncomfortable… Winry, he had called her. Her thoughts were interrupted as Tate roughly shoved her away from the stand, causing her to collide with Winry who easily caught her shoulders and set her upright.

"Are you alright?" Winry asked her and she nodded mutely in response.

Winry turned to the shop keeper. "What has she done?"

"She's scaring away my customers." He spat. "I won't have her defiling my shop!"

"She has done nothing wrong. Apologize, Tate."

The man's face reddened in with anger as he glared at Winry with vengeance. It was obvious to Noah that they did not have the best history together. Tate's disdain of Winry was obvious in the way he looked at her. Suddenly, Tate's smiled menacingly.

"Well if it isn't the bisexual Bitch protecting the Witch; a tale for the storybooks, to be sure."

Given the perfect ammunition, it was Winry's smile that turned both mocking and smug. "You're just jealous, Tate, that you were bested by a _woman_ in your own career. Well that's very 'manly' of you, taking it out on others."

"You didn't best me!" He roared, "You never have and you never will!"

How stupid the man was, Noah thought. He had foolishly fallen into Winry's ploy and easily tangled his foot in the rope of her trap. So easily manipulated; Noah was impressed and both mildly alarmed. But suddenly Tate was upon the young woman; his hulking form casting a shadow over her person. Ever so softly, he hissed:

"Find your place, wretch, or I'll find it for you."

"Is that a challenge, _Tate_?"

His sneer would have melted ice in that instant. "A race. Between an automobile of our own making, winner gets all and looser closes shop."

Something flickered in Winry's eyes but she refused to back down. "Deal."

Both turned away at the same time, Tate shoving through the crowd and Winry walking toward Noah who stood, frozen.

"Are you okay?"

Noah nodded, feeling lightheaded. "I'm just a little shaken."

Winry hummed in agreement as she gently grabbed the gypsy woman by the arm, leading through the mass of people. "Tate is just a man of his time so don't concern yourself over him." She paused. "Is your name Noah?"

"Yes,"

Winry gave a sigh of pure relief. "Thank the gods… you have to be one of the hardest women to find in all of Germany. I am Winry Rochell."

…

The smell of gasoline and undoubtedly many other harmful chemicals burned the noses of both Edward and Alphonse Elric, making their eyes tear and their breathing shallow. A lofty price for keeping silent.

"_What do we do with them now?" _A urgent voice sounded from within the room beyond their hiding place. _"Hitler is in prison and the rest of us have been hanged for treason!"_

"_No matter the cost, we mustn't let the government get their hands on them. If they ever did everything we have fought for would have been for nothing. With these we still hold some kind of leverage."_ Another voice growled. _"Hitler may be in prison…but the Nationalists see him as a hero for it and still fight for him."_

"_But why should _we?_! He completely disregarded Professor Eckhart's plans to move the rebellion over into Shamballa!"_

"_Fool! Eckhart was out of her mind in the end. She was the one who killed Hess, her right hand man! She herself was killed because she going through the portal transformed her into some kind of monster."_

"_So do we use them as ransom for Hitler's release?"_

"…_No. I have a better idea. But we'll need time."_

"_Which is something we don't have."_

The voices instantly quieted, barely breathing…as if listening.

"_What is it, Sean?"_

"_I thought I heard something…"_

"_It was probably just a rat. This place is full of them."_

Just on the other side of the wall, the brothers glared at one another, silently accusing the other of the shuffle that had nearly led to their discovery.

"_Probably,"_ The one called Sean said almost reluctantly. _"We'll meet up with Hans a week from now. Henry, you'll stay and keep the next shift."_

"_Sir!"_

The brothers waited until all was silent on the other wall before quietly stumbling out of the factory building and into the surrounding city until they were far enough into safety.

"Now we know where they are, brother. What are we going to do?"

Ed sighed before shoving his slightly cold hands into the pockets of his vest. "We can't let them use those bombs as leverage, Al, especially if they want to use it for the Furors freedom. That's one thing we won't allow to happen."

Al was silent for a moment. "The confrontations and the people of the past always seem to have a way a way of haunting us. Even if we are in a different world."

Ed grunted in reply. "And they'll never leave us alone."

The young man, former State Alchemist, only thought of his brother's thoughts in an air of heavy responsibility, never once thinking that something good could come from such a dark statement.

* * *

**_Resembool_**

Her face held firm as she and her body strong as she finished connecting the final nerve cell to Bo's new automail arm. Absentmindedly she soothed her trembling patient, mumbling to him that it was all nearly finished and that the pain would soon dull. When finished, he lay panting on the small cot; his body exhausted from the foreign pain and the metal that now lay cold and hard at his side.

"Rest," she told him softly. "I'll be back in a few minutes with some deadeners for the pain."

Through a haze of dizziness he watched her leave. Ms. Rockbell was a strange woman, she truly was. Her smiles held the warmth of her heart and her eyes veiled nothing of her feelings of kindness. She was a woman of honor, he cold sense, and she intrigued him more than any other had in a long time.

His eyes caught sight of her board of pictures and almost greedily his eyes dashed across their messy train. Most were of a little blonde-bobbed girl (to whom he assumed was Winry) giving a wide, toothy grin toward the camera. There were also several pictures of two blond-headed boys—brothers, they looked to be. He lingered on a particular picture that had one of the boys (older, now) and a suit of armor standing behind him. His entire right arm was automail; his expression grim. It suddenly dawned on him.

'_This was the boy she spoke of.'_

It suddenly all made sense.

The door creaked open, then, and Winry came striding quietly into the room. "I told your mother I would take you home when you were ready. 'Course, she didn't seem to like the idea too much."

Bo chuckled dryly. "I apologize for her attitude. Ever since my father died she has needed someone to fuss over."

"No need to apologize. My granny was the same way with me growing up. Though, I don't think she was that mean…"

This brought a smile to his face. "Yeah, I don't suppose so." He became melancholy once more. "You lost someone too, I presume?"

Her brows furrowed slightly and her lips thinned at his inquiry. "I have. I've lost many of the people that I love."

"And how do you do it? Keep your smile, I mean."

"You learn to realize that the world doesn't resolve you; that your petty problems amount to nothing when compared to the suffering of others. Those who we have lost we should mourn their absence, remember their legacy, and love them forever. Our parting is not forever."

"And you honestly believe that yourself?"

Winry looked at him sadly, sensing his hidden question. "I do, but I also believe in grieving."

* * *

**_Underground City_**

Four weeks had passed since Bo had received his mechanical arm and he was finally able to use his arm for more strenuous labor, with Winry's permission, of course. So Bo offered to take her to the dig-sight to where he worked and where the accident happened so she could judge his working status.

Which was how Winry found herself here, and enveloped in a flurry of un-welcomed emotions that threatened to bring down her spirits. She was back in the Underground City…except in _its _underground…strange.

And it had been the last place she had seen Ed and Al before they had permentetly vanished beyond the Gate, and without saying goodbye.

_Tell her she always did make the best._

Roy had told her those were Ed's parting words when Al used her as an excuse for him to stay. That statement alone made her burn with fury. To the end that boy always referred to her as 'the best mechanic', and oh, how it got on her nerves! Did he have anything else to say besides that? It wasn't as if she was asking him to be honest with his feelings and confess his undying love for her. No. Of course not.

_Liar_

Ok, maybe not in that sense. She just wanted more than _that_. She knew she cared for him as more than a friend on some distinctive level, but she would never admit it. Not now anyway. Not when to admit it now would only make the heartbreak and the pain so much harder, knowing that there was no chance of any of it happening.

'_Are you feeling the same things too, Edward? Are you afraid to move on in fear of hurting those you left behind even though you know you'll never see them again? Alphonse? How are you guys coping with the fact of never being able to see your loved ones ever again— never seeing home again?' _She asked in her silent desperation. _'How do you live, knowing that?'_

As expected, her questions went unanswered and her emotions remained maxed with worry. This was ridiculous; she couldn't keep doing this to herself. It was slowly killing her, and only her. She could almost hear Ed's nonchalant voice echo through the folds of her memory as he bluntly put her concerns to rest. _You're so stupid, Winry._

She was stupid. Mourning over them as if they were dead? They weren't dead; they were just separated by the void of time and space, never to be seen for the rest of eternity. Hell, as if it wasn't the same thing.

Carefully and slightly anxious, Winry followed Bo down a descending, (much to her horror) narrow glow-lit path. He grabbed her hand so she wouldn't loose her balance; she held onto it loosely.

"My Aunt Dietlinde's tent is by the main dig-area where I was working. We should see her there."

"You still want to do it even after what happened?"

A surprising smile graced his newly enlightened features.

"This job is my life," he said. "Nothing can keep me from completing it. Especially not when we're so close…"

"What are you working on?" she grasped a jutting rock when her shoes skidded across the gravel. Her companion reached to steady her and she quickly pushed aside his help. "In my experience nothing good can come from this place."

His quiet excitement was grimly noted when he began to speak, completely overlooking her last statement.

"We've found a transmutation circle carved into the heart of the cavern. My Aunt thinks it might be a permanent Portal or a Gate to the Other Worlds.

"Nothing good can come from messing with the forbidden, Bo." Winry said with an intensity that frightened even her; her heart nearly failing at the thought.

_Not even if there was a chance to see Ed and Al again?_

Her patient narrowed his eyes, obviously contemplating on her sudden paleness and sheen of sweat covering her brow.

"There are no consequences in this situation," he said, "because the exchange was already made two hundred years ago. There is but one piece left to the puzzle before we can access it to our will."

The breath was caught in her throat and it came out as a wheezy exhale of disgust. "_Exchange? _Your working off the souls of the murdered! You can't tell me there won't be consequences."

"You don't understand," he snapped, "nor do you need to."

They continued on in silence until they reached the sleeping area and when Bo's aunt could not be found and was reported to have already retired, Winry was led to her own tent which she gladly accepted with a sigh of weary relief. But on her knees, ready to crawl into her haven, the sight of the giant, and most horrendous transmutation circle lit only by generated lights. She turned away, clutching her trembling had to her chest.

'_Impossible.'_

Quickly she sunk into her sleeping bag, grunting when the cold cavern floor began to sleep through the folds of her sleeping bag. She drifted, wishing for oblivion.

But instead, the nightmares began.

* * *

**_Germany_**

It took all he had not to damn his overwhelming sense of stupidity in falling for Winry's gallant fight in the defense of her sexuality. It was her machine and she was to be driving it on the race day. But no, his horrid sense of over protectiveness kicked in and he would be damned before he let her drive in that race. So their 'discussion' ended with Ed brilliantly declaring that he would be the one to drive.

Nevertheless, he found himself laying out protective clothing for the morrow's event in defending Winry's position as a town mechanic. Women weren't exactly revered in the best of lights in this strange world and that notation actually pissed him off. His Winry had been a brilliant mechanic, and the Winry of this world was, too. It wasn't right for people to restrict the potential of others—women and children included.

Edward nearly laughed. _His _Winry. He had no idea when that had come about, but against his better judgment he loved the way it sounded. _Damnation! _He pressed his brown to the cold stone interior. Why was he doing this to himself? It was hopeless. His situation was hopeless. He was hopeless. And love was confusing. _Love?_

"Are you ready?"

He was pulled from his reveries. "Yeah," he said shortly, "I'm ready."

The mirror of a woman he once knew, cocked her head to the side while a sly, knowing smile curved about her undeniably German features.

"Who were you thinking about?"

"No one."

"So you were thinking about someone?"

He glanced warily at her. "Just remembering home and the people Al and I left there."

"Ah," she said, "So you were thinking about a girl."

A faint blush fell upon his features as he busied himself in order to distract; ignoring her."

Winry Rochell sighed before coming to sit along side her house guest; watching her dangling feet swing back and forth. "When a man has given away his heart, isn't it only natural that he wish he were back where he felt whole?"

"Very deep, Winry." He bit out sarcastically and she glared at him.

"I'm serious, Edward. Haven't you ever heard the expression 'Home is where the heart is'?"

He closed his eyes. "I have no home, anymore."

He chanced a glance toward Winry, expecting awkwardness or pity but was shocked and slightly moved at the expression of understanding shinning through her brilliant eyes. "I don't know your story, Ed," she said, "But I can understand where you are coming from. I too lost the one I love, but it was in a war I hate."

Ed was at a loss for words.

"I was," Winry nodded, "And his name, like yours, was also Edward."

His friend gave a dry laugh, looking to her feet as if she were inspecting her shoes for scuffs. "And he looked just like you. But in my heart I knew you weren't him, even if everything else about you pointed to the possibility."

_'She was in love with the alternate me?'_

And suddenly he could hear the Colonel's arrogant voice taunting him. _If that's not proof enough for you, Fullmetal, then you're an incompetent, little idiot._

"Now, Edward," she smiled at him with the melancholy tug of her lips. "I told you of my love and it's only fair you tell me about yours.

Ed looked away. "I wasn't…I'm not… I don't think I'm in love with her. It's true that I never had the chance to tell her that I thought about her as more than a friend." A sheepish smile filled his countenance. "It's as pathetic, I know, but Al and I were so caught up in our journey that we had not time to commit. We're childhood friends but that was the extent of it."

"Describe her to me."

A faint blush crossed his cheeks. "Excuse me?"

"I said, describe her to me."

Leaning back, the former Alchemist closed his eyes, allowing the number of images to flutter across his mind's eye of his childhood friend. A soft smile creased his mouth. "She was crazy," he began. "She was a compassionate woman but had the fuse of a firecracker when provoked."

Winry Rochell laughed. "Sounds like a fun woman."

"She is. And she was also proud—the good kind of proud, I mean, where she took joy in a job well done. She loved helping people with her job, too." He held up his metal arm. "She constructed this for me."

The blonde woman eyed the piece of machinery critically. "She must be really good at what she does. I've never seen anything like that…"

Suddenly nervous, Ed covered up his arm with his sleeve and attempted to change the subject. But Winry frowned again.

"Ed, you keep switching tenses. Is she alive? Did she leave? What?"

"She's alive and she didn't leave, but to see her again is impossible."

She _ah'ed_ in understanding. "What does she look like?"

"She has long golden hair that glints in the evening sun. It would be the first thing Al and I would see off in the distance while we were on our way home. She was always waiting for us… She had eyes like the sky, flawless…." He paused when he heard Winry's light chortle. "What is it?" he snapped, a little perturbed that she found his story amusing.

"It's nothing," she waved him off with a sly smile. "You really are in love with her."

With his mouth hanging slightly, Winry brushed passed him calling over her shoulder that he and Al would be sharing the room with her and Noah since the temperatures were supposed to drop especially low that night.

With a heady sigh he followed after her, completely missing the swirling dark eyes of one of his companions in the corner.

…

The sleeping arrangements weren't exactly awkward, but they were definitely a call for modesty. There was a small twin bed on each side of the room, with two quickly made pallets on the floor. Al had already snagged the pallet closest to the heating stove, over by Noah's bed. That left him to the pallet by Winry's bed, so he took it happily. As he curled up deeper into the covers in an attempt to warm his feet, he was vaguely aware of Winry stepping over him and of the sound of the bed sinking with her weight, before he finally drifted into a light slumber.

* * *

_**Somewhere in the Between**_

Winry awoke to the strong, nearly unbearable feeling of nausea. She took deep, cleansing breaths in order calm her churning stomach and sighed when it helped at least a little. Despite of her displeasure in doing so, Winry pried open her crusted eyes to squint into the filmy darkness. The air in the cave, it seemed, had changed from when she feel asleep. No longer was it thick and oppressing but instead light and sweet. She began to panic. And no longer was she sleeping on her lumpy cot but instead upon a feathery mattress. She looked outside the window where the soft glow of the moon cascaded like a silvery waterfall into the small room.

Swinging her legs over, Winry froze when they hit warm flesh.

"Ugh…" She hit it again and it moved.

Her breathing quickened. Now was not the time to have a panic attack.

"Winry, are you okay?" she heard an all-too familiar voice ask from below her.

"_Edward?" _She flinched at how her voice trembled.

"Who else would it be?" he growled. Ed shifted as to look at her and froze in the horror in her eyes. Winry shook her head; disbelieving.

"It can't be. You and Al disappeared behind the Gate… There's no way you could have made it back?"

It was his turn to look horrified and his body quivered as _his _Winry sunk to her knees in front of him and, with a trembling hand, traced the lines of his face with her hand and followed the line of his body until it reached his automail limb. Gooseflesh rose where her finger touched.

It had to be a dream.

Or a really cruel nightmare.


End file.
